Porchlight Episode 2: Captain G.R. Gopinath, Founder, Air Deccan, Deccan Aviation and Deccan 360

Porchlight is a new series on the Curiouser and Curiouser podcast where we talk with fascinating, accomplished individuals about their formative years, unusual trajectories and the lessons they learned along the way. Imagine the relief when you return home late at night, after a long journey or a trying day to find the porchlight on, a welcoming northstar, guiding you back to warmth and safety. We're hoping that delving into people's early flight paths will similarly, not only be educational and entertaining, but also serve as a model, a template and a beacon of inspiration, a step forward by looking back at the guiding values, attitudes and behaviors that laid the foundation and templates for lives.In our second episode we chat with Captain G.R. Gopinath, Founder of Air Deccan, India's first low cost airline. Popularly revered as the "father of Indian low-cost airlines" Captain Gopi is a beloved entrepreneur who democratized air travel by his vision of making flying accessible to the common man and pioneering budget travel. He is also the founder of Deccan Aviation, Deccan 360 and other ventures, but prior to his aviation career, Captain Gopi was a different type of entrepreneur, a farmer, making an unusual pivot after a career in the military. Driven by his deep connection with the land and its people and against all odds, he built a successful working farm from scratch on the principles of sustainability and ecology, a farm that he still works to this day.We'll talk with Captain Gopi about his formative years in a more personal light and about making something out of nothing. Please note this episode was recorded across several land masses and two oceans. If you have suggestions of guests or topics for Curiouser or Porchlight, please drop us a line at [email protected]